Greek Inspired Pie (Blatsaria)

This recipe is a loose interpretation of Blatsaria. I've adjusted to ingredients I usually have on hand to make this more accessible. The Greek flavors of the spinach, feta and dill make this recipe taste instantly recognizable. The dough comes together quickly, making this an easy recipe. The ingredients can be adjusted too. I used turnip greens because I had them on hand. You could use other greens or increase the spinach instead. Pin It Now!

Pepperoncini-Feta Turkey Meatballs

When I am low on energy and cooking inspiration, I tend to make meatballs, kabobs or keftas. I found this recipe and knew I wanted to try it. It's a quick, easy dinner that made great leftover too. Serve this with plain or herbed rice. I also enjoy having a tomato cucumber salad or yogurt with cucumber.

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Chopped Greek Style Salad

Every time I make a Greek salad, I forgot how much I enjoy them and wonder why I don't make them more often. I love that this version can still be eaten on day 2 if you have any leftovers. It won't be as great as day 1, but it's still tasty and saves you having to come up with a lunch idea. This travels well too and is great for picnics. 

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Tomato, Feta and Caramelized Onion Tart

I have always been a fan of tomato and feta based snacks. One of my favorite sandwiches is a fresh pita stuffed with tomatoes, feta cheese and basil. This tart is the fancy, guest approved version of that. I serve this with a salad and it makes a great summertime dinner. Don't go too heavy on the onions or the tart may become soggy. This tart is best straight out of the oven (plus a few minutes of cool down time). If you reheat it try avoiding the microwave.

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Betty Bossi's Salat Zorba (Greek Salad)

This Betty Bossi's salad is one that my family ate often when I was a kid. The page in my mom's cookbook is proof of that, with splatter marks and a slight tear in the page (keep in mind that this book is older than me). The Betty Bossi recipe doesn't use lettuce in this salad and suggests that you can use a twig of fresh tarragon instead of the oregano. I've grown up with the oregano variation since oregano grows year round in my mom's herb garden.

This salad is simple, but delicious. If you need to prepare it ahead of time, make the dressing and store it in an individual container so the salad does not get soggy. This salad make a great main course for night your want a light dinner. Serve with some olive bread or dinner rolls and your meal is complete.

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Roasted Shrimp and Orzo Salad

The other night, my sister and I decided to have a shrimp/prawn dinner. It had been a while since either of us had eaten shellfish and we decided to find a recipe that would be easy to make on a hot summer day. The original recipe called for grilling the shrimp, but, thanks to Colorado's extreme thunderstorms, we ended up roasting the shrimp. It tasted amazing and was definitely a better option to grilling in the rain. You can grill the shrimp or roast them, either way this salad is a great summer meal.

Before deciding upon this recipe, I emailed my sister with a list of about 12 different shrimp recipes to choose from. We opted against anything too time consuming and narrowed it down to 2 shrimp and orzo salad recipes. One was a Bobby Flay recipe, and another was an Ina Garten recipe. As anyone in my family knows, we are very loyal Ina Garten fans. I have probably read 5 of her cookbooks front to back at least a dozen times and have loved every recipe of hers. However, this time around Bobby Flay was the winner. The dill-mustard vinaigrette was the selling point of this recipe. So, feeling a little like traitors, we made Bobby Flay's shrimp and orzo salad.

This salad is the perfect summer lunch or dinner. It has pasta, protein, and vegetable all thrown into one dish, so you really don't need to serve anything else along with this. Since shrimp cooks so quickly, you can have this dinner made in 20 minutes.

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Mediterranean Style Quinoa Salad

 
Quinoa salads are such a great summertime meal or side dish. They're really filling, healthy, and can be made to suit your flavor preferences. Ever since I was little, I have loved Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food. If I had to live off of one style of food the rest of my life, that's what I'd choose. My sister thinks I'm weird sometimes because I like sliced cucumbers and tomatoes for breakfast. I generally prefer them over lots of breakfast foods, like danishes and muffins. I've always enjoyed almost all veggies and fruits, which is probably why I like so many different types of salads.

Now that I'm in Denver and enjoying the 80º+ weather, it's time to start enjoying summer food and eating dinner outdoors. I came up with this quinoa salad the other night after deciding I felt like having something with feta cheese and olives. It was really easy to put this together, to the point where I wondered if I should even put up this post. But, since most people I know prefer quick and easy dishes over something complicated, I figured someone might enjoy it. My sister and I had some grilled portobello mushrooms along with this salad and called it a meal. As with many of the foods I make, your can easily change this salad to suit your taste buds.

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Cheese Bourekas

Every now and then, I go on a meat strike. I love meat, but if I have it too many days in a row, I need a break and turn into a vegetarian for a few days (sometime longer). This past weeks was meat intensive. First there was a veal roast, then the Japanese stir fry, followed by a chicken dish. I needed a break from the carnivorous life and bourekas were the prefect meal. It's still cloudy and cool here, so having something warm and comforting was just what I wanted.

Since bourekas themselves aren't really healthy, and are more of a side dish/starter than a main meal, I like having lots of salads to go with them. Usually I make a leafy green salad and an Israeli salad, along with some hard boiled eggs, and call it a meal. There are tons of different variations for making bourekas, but these are simple, easy, and really good. These also freeze really well, so if you find yourself with too many bourekas, feel free to put them in the freeze with the egg wash already on them. All you have to do the next time is throw them in the oven.

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Orzo with Roasted Vegetables

Spring has been beautiful here in California. Where I'm staying, it's actually nicer now than it will probably be at the start of summer. June can sometimes get very gloomy in the mornings, with the sun only beginning to poke through the clouds in the afternoon. I'm sure that still beats the weather in some other parts of the world, but considering the fact that this is "sunny" California, gloomy morning are not welcome. So for that reason, I'm enjoying every minute of spring sunshine and making meals that can easily be eaten and served outside.

This orzo is perfect side dish for any picnic, barbecue, or outdoor meal. It combines pasta with veggies and cheese in a way that does not feel heavy (like some pasta dishes do). I've even had it as a main course and been more than happy to call it a meal. However, for all the extreme carnivores out there, just throw some meat on the grill, serve this as a side, and you'll be set. This dish tastes great the next day too and can be served at room temperature or cold (I don't usually re-heat it when I have it the next day).

The recipe can be changed endlessly. First off, I'm too lazy to peel my veggies before I roast them, and I see no reason for doing so. If you don't like eggplants, use zucchini. If you want more veggies, add them. If you want more orzo, you can double the amount and have fewer vegetables. The original recipe is heavy on the olive oil, so I always cut that back a bit. This will still yield lots of dressing, but the eggplant and orzo soak up the flavors really well. The recipe calls for toasted pine nuts on top. I'm personally not a fan of this step, but other people who have had this like the crunch, so I'll leave it up to you. Play around with this if you don't like a specific element. It will probably taste great with any variety of roasted veggies.

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